World War II ships pose pollution threat

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it had forwarded to the U.S. Coast Guard a new report about 36 sunken vessels scattered across the U.S. seafloor that could pose an oil pollution threat.
Seventeen of the ships were recommended for further assessment and potential removal of both fuel oil and oil cargo by the agency.
NOAA said "the sunken vessels are a legacy of more than a century of U.S. commerce and warfare. They include a barge lost in rough seas in 1936; two motor-powered ships that sank in separate collisions in 1947 and 1952; and a tanker that exploded and sank in 1984. The remaining sites are 13 merchant marine ships lost during World War II, primarily along the Atlantic Seaboard and Gulf of Mexico."
NOAA has posted a list of the ships and their locations. - Chris Dupin